Hi! Welcome To Cuba, presented by Jake Schare, Zachary Weiss, and Darren Spielman.
To start off we will tell you a little about the geography. Neighboring states around Cuba are The United States, Jamaica, Mexico and The Dominican Republic. Next the population is approximately 11.1 million people. Cuba was discovered by Chris Columbus in 1492. Cuba is located at the northern rim of the Carribean Sea, about 160 km (100 mi) south of Florida. Spanish is the official language of Cuba. Next we have a little bit about the geographic features. There is the Sierra Maestra the Escambray mountain range. There is the Cauto and Toa river there is also the Bay of Pigs. There government is a socialist state. The official language of Cuba is Spanish. Cuba is about 60 KM or 100Mi from the Carribean Sea and south of Florida. The weather in Cuba is normally tropical then November - April it is dry. In the 20th century, there was a big wave of Jewish immigrants fled to Marranos. They came as colonists. If you were wishing to visit Jewish places it would be very hard to find a place to visit. There aren't any Jewish places to visit. However, the Jewish education in Cuba is decent, there are plenty of Jewish day schools. Some of the Jewish day schools are David Posnack Jewish Day School, Hillel Community Day School, Donna Klein Jewish Academy, and Arthur I. Meyer Jewish Academy. But the Hebrew schools are not as easy to find. There are only five in Havana and only one in Santiago de Cuba. In 1924 there were 24000 Jews living in Cuba. More arrived in the 1930s. By 1959, 94% left Cuba to get away from Castro. By 2007 there were only 1500 Jews living in Cuba. It was the arrival of Fidel Castro that caused the Jews to leave Cuba. 3 out of 10 of the original Communist Party members in Cuba were Jewish. Fabio Grobart and Manuel Novigrod are Jewish people that played an important role in the revolution. Since Fidel Castro took over there's little options for Jewish life. In order for Jews in Cuba to be able to celebrate Passover, the Joint Distribution Committee, an international Jewish Aid Agency, sends a shipment of kosher for Passover basics to local families. The families take what they need to be able to celebrate Passover. The whole community celebrates the sedars together.
Tostones
Directions
In a large frying pan, pour in enough vegetable oil to fill the pan about halfway, and place over medium to high heat.
Remove the peel from the plantains, and discard. Chop the pulp into rounds of about 1-1½ inch thickness.
To test the oil temperature, carefully place a small piece of plantain into the oil. If the oil bubbles around the plantain, it is ready. If it doesn't, continue heating the oil until it does.
Once the oil is ready, carefully drop the plantain rounds into the oil, and fry for two minutes before flipping and frying for two minutes on the other side.
Remove the plantains from the oil, and using either a tostonera or a frying pan and a flat surface, smash the rounds until they flatten.
Return the now-flattened plantain rounds to the oil, and fry until golden and crisp, about two more minutes.
Remove the plantains from the oil, and immediately place on a platter lined with paper towel to catch any unnecessary oil.
Sprinkle with kosher salt while the plantains are still hot, and serve.
That recipe is a recipe for Chanukah.
Mojo sauce (recipe to follow)
1) In a large plastic bag, squeeze the juice of the sour oranges (or oranges and lemons), add 3 minced cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon of minced oregano, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the whole chicken, seal the bag, and place in the refrigerator to marinade overnight (the longer this marinates, the better).
2) The following day, remove the chicken from the plastic bag, and blot dry using paper towels.
3) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
3) Meanwhile, in a small bowl, create a rub for the chicken by combining 2 minced cloves of garlic, 1tablespoon minced oregano, the cumin, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Massage the rub into the chicken, making sure to get the mixture between the skin and the flesh. Using kitchen twine, tie the legs together.
4) In a baking dish, arrange the sliced onions in a single layer, and place the chicken breast-side-up over the onions. Add chicken broth to the dish, and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
5) Remove the chicken from the oven, and lower the oven temperature to 375. Using kitchen tongs in the cavity of the chicken, turn the chicken so it is breast-side-down, and replace in the oven for another 30 minutes.
6) Remove the chicken from the oven, and baste with the liquid. Flip the chicken one more time so that it is now breast-side-up, and finish cooking for 30-35 minutes, or until its juices run clear.
Allow chicken to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with the roasted onions from the baking dish and mojo sauce. Traditional Cuban Mojo Sauce
¼ cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic, and stir constantly, so that the garlic does not burn. When the garlic turns slightly golden, add the onions, and sweat until they are translucent. Add the oregano, sour orange juice, salt and pepper, and lower the heat to medium low. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve hot, alongside meat.
Cuban Passover Recipe
Cuban Fufú
3 large green plantain bananas, peeled and sliced into 1-2 inch discs
salt and pepper to taste
1) Fill a large pot with cold water and the juice of a lemon. Add a generous sprinkle of kosher salt and the plantains. Cook over high heat, and bring to a boil.
2) Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, add the olive oil and garlic, and cook over medium to low heat. When the garlic reaches a lightly golden color, add the onions, oregano, sour orange juice, and salt and pepper. Lower the heat, and let the sauce simmer until the onions are translucent. 3) In the large pot with the plantains, prick the bananas with a fork to test their tenderness. When they can easily be pierced, take the pot off the heat.
4) Reserve 1 cup of the starchy cooking liquid, then drain the plantains. Return the plantains to the pot, and mash using a potato masher. Thin the mixture with the cooking liquid until it reaches your desired consistency. Mix in some of the mojo sauce, reserving some onions to serve on top.
Serve immediately.
Hi, I'm Jake Schare. I celebrate Passover with all of my family. First normally I go to my dads side of the family, I play with my cousins and have fun. Also I would go to my moms side and we play a lot of board games. I also play Afikomen and it is soooooo fun! Hey, I'm Darren Spielman. I am a sixth grade student at West Hollow Middle School. I go to Temple Beth Torah. One tradition that my family does on Passover is to go to my cousins house in West Chester with my entire moms side of the family. My great uncle always does the Dayenu, but he does it an interesting way. He does what my family likes to call "The Insler Dayenu." He speeds it up to an extreme and still reads it all in Hebrew. It's the best part of the whole Sedar because it's a family tradition that we all enjoy and get to laugh about.
To start off we will tell you a little about the geography. Neighboring states around Cuba are The United States, Jamaica, Mexico and The Dominican Republic. Next the population is approximately 11.1 million people. Cuba was discovered by Chris Columbus in 1492. Cuba is located at the northern rim of the Carribean Sea, about 160 km (100 mi) south of Florida. Spanish is the official language of Cuba. Next we have a little bit about the geographic features. There is the Sierra Maestra the Escambray mountain range. There is the Cauto and Toa river there is also the Bay of Pigs. There government is a socialist state. The official language of Cuba is Spanish. Cuba is about 60 KM or 100Mi from the Carribean Sea and south of Florida. The weather in Cuba is normally tropical then November - April it is dry. In the 20th century, there was a big wave of Jewish immigrants fled to Marranos. They came as colonists. If you were wishing to visit Jewish places it would be very hard to find a place to visit. There aren't any Jewish places to visit. However, the Jewish education in Cuba is decent, there are plenty of Jewish day schools. Some of the Jewish day schools are David Posnack Jewish Day School, Hillel Community Day School, Donna Klein Jewish Academy, and Arthur I. Meyer Jewish Academy. But the Hebrew schools are not as easy to find. There are only five in Havana and only one in Santiago de Cuba. In 1924 there were 24000 Jews living in Cuba. More arrived in the 1930s. By 1959, 94% left Cuba to get away from Castro. By 2007 there were only 1500 Jews living in Cuba. It was the arrival of Fidel Castro that caused the Jews to leave Cuba. 3 out of 10 of the original Communist Party members in Cuba were Jewish. Fabio Grobart and Manuel Novigrod are Jewish people that played an important role in the revolution. Since Fidel Castro took over there's little options for Jewish life. In order for Jews in Cuba to be able to celebrate Passover, the Joint Distribution Committee, an international Jewish Aid Agency, sends a shipment of kosher for Passover basics to local families. The families take what they need to be able to celebrate Passover. The whole community celebrates the sedars together.
Tostones
Directions
In a large frying pan, pour in enough vegetable oil to fill the pan about halfway, and place over medium to high heat.
Remove the peel from the plantains, and discard. Chop the pulp into rounds of about 1-1½ inch thickness.
To test the oil temperature, carefully place a small piece of plantain into the oil. If the oil bubbles around the plantain, it is ready. If it doesn't, continue heating the oil until it does.
Once the oil is ready, carefully drop the plantain rounds into the oil, and fry for two minutes before flipping and frying for two minutes on the other side.
Remove the plantains from the oil, and using either a tostonera or a frying pan and a flat surface, smash the rounds until they flatten.
Return the now-flattened plantain rounds to the oil, and fry until golden and crisp, about two more minutes.
Remove the plantains from the oil, and immediately place on a platter lined with paper towel to catch any unnecessary oil.
Sprinkle with kosher salt while the plantains are still hot, and serve.
That recipe is a recipe for Chanukah.
Shabbat Dinner Recipes:
Aromatic Cuban Roasted Chicken
One 4-5 pound whole chicken, giblets removed
3 sour oranges (or 2 navel oranges and 2 lemons)
5 cloves of garlic, minced and divided
2 Tablespoons fresh oregano, minced and divided
4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
2 onions, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chicken broth
Mojo sauce (recipe to follow)
1) In a large plastic bag, squeeze the juice of the sour oranges (or oranges and lemons), add 3 minced cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon of minced oregano, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the whole chicken, seal the bag, and place in the refrigerator to marinade overnight (the longer this marinates, the better).
2) The following day, remove the chicken from the plastic bag, and blot dry using paper towels.
3) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
3) Meanwhile, in a small bowl, create a rub for the chicken by combining 2 minced cloves of garlic, 1tablespoon minced oregano, the cumin, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Massage the rub into the chicken, making sure to get the mixture between the skin and the flesh. Using kitchen twine, tie the legs together.
4) In a baking dish, arrange the sliced onions in a single layer, and place the chicken breast-side-up over the onions. Add chicken broth to the dish, and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
5) Remove the chicken from the oven, and lower the oven temperature to 375. Using kitchen tongs in the cavity of the chicken, turn the chicken so it is breast-side-down, and replace in the oven for another 30 minutes.
6) Remove the chicken from the oven, and baste with the liquid. Flip the chicken one more time so that it is now breast-side-up, and finish cooking for 30-35 minutes, or until its juices run clear.
Allow chicken to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with the roasted onions from the baking dish and mojo sauce.
Traditional Cuban Mojo Sauce
¼ cup olive oil
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 small onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, minced
3 sour oranges (or 2 navel oranges and 2 lemons), juiced
salt and pepper to taste
In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic, and stir constantly, so that the garlic does not burn. When the garlic turns slightly golden, add the onions, and sweat until they are translucent. Add the oregano, sour orange juice, salt and pepper, and lower the heat to medium low. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve hot, alongside meat.
Cuban Passover Recipe
Cuban Fufú
3 large green plantain bananas, peeled and sliced into 1-2 inch discs
1 lemon, juiced
¼ cup olive oil
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 small onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, minced
3 sour oranges (or 2 navel oranges and 2 lemons), juiced
salt and pepper to taste
1) Fill a large pot with cold water and the juice of a lemon. Add a generous sprinkle of kosher salt and the plantains. Cook over high heat, and bring to a boil.
2) Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, add the olive oil and garlic, and cook over medium to low heat. When the garlic reaches a lightly golden color, add the onions, oregano, sour orange juice, and salt and pepper. Lower the heat, and let the sauce simmer until the onions are translucent. 3) In the large pot with the plantains, prick the bananas with a fork to test their tenderness. When they can easily be pierced, take the pot off the heat.
4) Reserve 1 cup of the starchy cooking liquid, then drain the plantains. Return the plantains to the pot, and mash using a potato masher. Thin the mixture with the cooking liquid until it reaches your desired consistency. Mix in some of the mojo sauce, reserving some onions to serve on top.
Serve immediately.
Hi, I'm Jake Schare. I celebrate Passover with all of my family. First normally I go to my dads side of the family, I play with my cousins and have fun. Also I would go to my moms side and we play a lot of board games. I also play Afikomen and it is soooooo fun!
Hey, I'm Darren Spielman. I am a sixth grade student at West Hollow Middle School. I go to Temple Beth Torah. One tradition that my family does on Passover is to go to my cousins house in West Chester with my entire moms side of the family. My great uncle always does the Dayenu, but he does it an interesting way. He does what my family likes to call "The Insler Dayenu." He speeds it up to an extreme and still reads it all in Hebrew. It's the best part of the whole Sedar because it's a family tradition that we all enjoy and get to laugh about.